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Current Affairs

Autistic Pride Day: 18th June

 Autistic Pride Day is observed globally on 18th June every year. This day is observed to respect the rights of persons with autism. In 2005, the first autistic pride day was celebrated in Brazil by the Aspies For Freedom(AFF) created by Gareth & Amy Nelson and became a global event. A rainbow infinity symbol is used to represent neurodiversity which symbolises the infinite possibilities in the lives of autistic people.
  • What is Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication. Autism is a development disorder. The disorder is characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication which may also include restricted and repetitive behaviour. The signs of Autism are often noticed by the parents of the child during the first three years. These signs develop gradually. The World Health Assembly(WHA) adopted the resolution “Comprehensive and coordinated efforts for the management of autism spectrum disorders(ASD)” in May 2014 for the member nations to collaborate with WHO to strengthen the national capacities to address ASD and other developmental disorders.
Catgeory: Important Days

Karnataka Bank launches health insurance to cover COVID-19 pandemic

 As part of its social commitment, a special health insurance policy has been launched by the Karnataka Bank in association with Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd to cover the uncertainties posed by COVID-19 pandemic. Under this health insurance policy, an individual can avail health cover for COVID-19 at a nominal premium of Rs 399, with the validity period of 120 days. The health insurance policy will cover COVID-19 pandemic related health expenses such as in-patient hospital expenses of up to Rs 3.00 lakh, outpatient treatment expenses of Rs 3000 and will also offer a sum of Rs 1000 per day towards expenses incurred towards 14 days of quarantine at a government or military hospital. All the customers of the Bank in the age group of 18-65 years will be able to subscribe the policy.
Catgeory: Business

India releases National Report on the state of Climate Crisis

 India’s first ever National Report on the state of the Climate Crisis has been released. The report has been prepared under the aegis of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with title “Assessment Of Climate Change Over The Indian Region”. The report analyses where India stands regarding long-term changes in climate patterns, and their attendant risks.
Key findings of the report:
  • It revealed that India’s average temperature has risen by 0.7 degrees Celsius between 1901-2018, citing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) as key reason of the temperature rise.
  • It also predicted two different scenarios related to India’s temperature rise by 2099. In a best-case scenario of immediate mitigation of emissions, India’s temperature will still rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius while in the worst-case scenario temperature will increase by 4.4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
  • About the monsoon, it shows that the precipitation over north India has reduced by 6% between 1951-2015 because of the polluting aerosol “brown cloud”. The monsoon is also expected to become more extreme in the upcoming decades.
  • It also predicts the April-June heatwaves to become four times more frequent by 2099 as compared to that of 1976-2005.
  • It stated that the sea level near Mumbai is rising at the rate of 3 cm per decade while it is 5 cm per decade off the Bengal coast.
  • It mentioned that surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea have increased by 1 degree Celsius between 1951-2015 which is higher than the global average.
  • It also shows that the frequency of warm days and nights is expected to increase upto 55% and 70% respectively.
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    Catgeory: Ranks & Reports

    British Petroleum to set up Global Business Service Centre in Pune

     United Kingdom oil major “British Petroleum” is going to set up Global Business Service Centre in Pune, Maharashtra to support its global businesses. The centre would be established for its global business services (GBS) operations in Pune, Maharashtra. The centre is expected to begin its operations by January 2021. The planned Global Business Service Centre will employ around 2000 people and provide business processing as well as advanced analytics capabilities in support of British Petroleum businesses worldwide. The GBSC in India will allow the oil major to tap into India’s digital talent pool and would result in its development and application of cutting-edge digital solutions.
    Catgeory: Business

    International Workshop on “Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic

     International Workshop on “Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic for International Civil Servants” was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh. The workshop was organized by Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), Ministry of External Affairs and National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The two-day Conference featured the participation of 81 International Civil Servants from 16 Countries. The participants included the Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army Major General HJS Gunawardena, 19 Senior Secretaries to Government from Bangladesh, 11 District Administrators from Myanmar, Senior officials from Bhutan, Somalia, Thailand, Tunisia, Tonga, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Sudan and Uzbekistan.
    Catgeory: Summits

    Mumbai gets ‘Air-Venti’ App to provide information on ICU beds, ventilators

     Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has launched a mobile application “Air-Venti” to provide information on ICU beds, ventilators. Octaware Technologies Limited, in partnership with Probity Soft Pvt Ltd, has developed this mobile application for MCGM and therefore the data regarding the ICU beds and Ventilators vacant status. The mobile app ‘Air-Venti’ launched by the civic body in Mumbai aims to supply overall statistics of ICU beds and ventilators that are occupied and vacant in both govt and private hospitals besides location map, ability to contact hospital through telephonic call and email is additionally available.
    Catgeory: Miscellaneous

    Karnataka Government observes “Mask Day” on 18 June

     Karnataka government observed the “Mask Day” on 18 June 2020. The Mask Day was observed to aware the people about the use of masks, sanitisers, washing hands with soap in order to control the spread of COVID-19 in the state. It also urged the people to maintain the social distancing norms. To observe “Mask Day”, the Karnataka government organised a march which featured the participation of public representatives, dignitaries and medical staff. Through the march, the participants spread awareness among the people about the national directives issued to contain the COVID-19.
    Catgeory: State

    BoB to completely digitize its lending operations

     India’s 3rd largest lender, Bank of Baroda will completely digitize its lending operations including home, agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME), personal and auto loans. The bank has recently completed its merger with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank.
    About Bank of Baroda Digital Lending:
  • The validation and disbursal of fresh loans will happen via this digital platform while past loans will also be digitised to cut costs and improve profitability.
  • The bank is planning to digitise a large proportion of its retail and MSME processes in the next six months.
  • The bank has set up a new vertical, digital lending department at the corporate office, which will have substantial overlap with various credit verticals including Retail, MSME, Agri & service verticals like Analytics centre, Risk Management, Marketing.
  • To set up this digital lending department the bank has reached out to the Big Four and some white shoe consultants like McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group.
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    Catgeory: Economy & Banking

    ICICI Home Finance launches “SARAL” scheme for affordable house loan

     ICICI Home Finance Company Limited (HFC) has launched “SARAL” scheme for a special affordable house loan for urban and rural areas. The beneficiaries are women, lower, middle-income customers and economically weaker sections, with a maximum household income up to Rs 6 lakh per annum. 
    • About SARAL Scheme:
    The loan requires compulsory ownership of a woman in the country’s rural areas from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. The maximum limit of the loan is Rs 35 lakh. The interest rate of the loan starts from 7.98%. The maximum tenure of the loan is 20 years. Customers with pre-existing loans can also transfer their loans.
    Catgeory: Economy & Banking

    Harsh Vardhan launched India’s 1st Mobile Lab for COVID-19

     Union Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan has launched India’s first mobile lab for COVID-19 testing. The Infectious Disease Diag Lab (I-Lab) – Rapid Response Mobile Laboratory has been developed with the support from the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and Andhra Pradesh Med-tech Zone (AMTZ) under DBT-AMTZ COMManD (COVID Medtech Manufacturing Development) Consortia.
    • About Infectious Disease Diag Lab (I-Lab):
    The main aim of the mobile lab is to address the shortage of critical healthcare technologies in India and move progressively towards a stage of self-sufficiency. I-Lab is capable of conducting both COVID-19 and non-COVID tests and give results the same day. For COVID, it can carry out a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests. While RT-PCR test is a COVID-19 diagnosis test, ELISA test looks for antibodies developed by an individual against the virus. ELISA test tells whether an individual was infected with the virus anytime in the past and has now developed antibodies against it.
    Catgeory: National

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